Chapter 17: Sirius and Lupin's Reunion
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Chapter 18 (Confrontation), Chapter 19 (Challenging Snape), Chapter 20 (A Girlfriend), Chapter 21 (A Dinner with Tonks), Chapter 22 (Harry and Sirius), and Chapter 23 (Bonding) are already available for Patrons.
Sirius was hunched over Harry's cradle. This baby was so small, so fragile. He never dared to pick him up when alone with him. He felt too likely to spread oil from his dirty hand on his adorable face or, worse, let him fall.
The toddler was smiling at him, munching on his own foot. Usually, Sirius would be cooing or tickling the baby as soon as he saw him, but this evening, his heart was much heavier than ever.
It has been two weeks since the Potters moved into their new house. It was a lovely place. It even had a yard. It could be quite a chance for them to live here if it wasn't for the dreadful circumstances.
Every night, Sirius would wake up drenched in sweat, his heart beating like it would burst from his chest. Every night, he saw the worst happening. He saw some terrible things that he never dared tell anyone about them, not even Remus, fearing that voicing them would make them happen.
He thought that convincing Lily and James to change their secret keeper would make the nightmare fade away. But it didn't. It made them worse.
Suddenly, a voice came from the staircase. "Sirius, Lily needs you for the oven, you know, mechanic stuff you...."
James pushed his son's door but was cut off when he saw his almost brother looking down on the baby, his long dark hair covering his face. It had been such a long time since he hadn't heard Sirius go silent; it frightened him. Sirius should be either making jokes and laughing either throwing a tantrum. He was not quiet anger like Remus or simply quiet like Peter.
"Mate, you okay?" he asked, shutting the door behind him. The next second, he was standing beside Sirius, his hand on his shoulder.
The dark-haired young man did not move. His hand clenched on the bed's wood so much that his knuckles turned white.
"Don't you think he's a bit weird recently?"
"Who? Harry? He's a baby. It's normal for him to eat his foot...."
"I'm not talking about Harry." cut Sirius, on edge.
"Then who? Remus? The full moon's co..." James asked softly, knowing that raising his voice would do nothing with his friend.
"Peter, James, I'm talking about Peter. He's blimey strange." James frowned, taking his hand off his friend's shoulder to ruffle his hair, a gesture he did only when he felt a string of stress shooting through him.
"Strange? Ho... How strange?"
Sirius regretted it a bit. Since the rise of Voldemort and especially since his son's birth, James became more and more stressed out.
Of course, in front of people, he was still the strongest and most caring and optimistic of them, but his friend and Lily knew that with any passing second, he was living in constant fear of seeing one of his loved ones hurt.
"I don't know Prongs, and I don't want to ruin this evening, but lately, something feels off..."
"Okay, then talk to me, and we'll see." Sirius sighed, his jaw clenching.
"Well, he didn't hesitate. When I asked him to be your guardian. You remember, at school, we had to convince him for every prank, night out, even when joining the order, he was so unsure! And here, he's willing to do something very dangerous without even thinking about it."
"You know, Padfoot, people change. Look at me, am I still this stupid teenager that didn't care for anybody else than me and my three best friends? " Sirius laughed a little, very tempted to annoy his best friend.
"Of course not, but it took some time, it took some battle, some pain, it took Lily and Harry being thrown into this shitty war, Peter... I mean, he never fought with us, only doing some Spy-like work..."
James took a second to ponder what his friend had just said. But shortly, he came out with a solution to ease his friend's worry.
"You said it yourself, I also changed thanks to Lily, and Peter met this girl. Maybe she changed him. Maybe he wants to be brave for her." Sirius scoffed.
"Oh yeah, this girl he never introduced us to... I mean, we're his best friends! We always told him everything, and he never did! What is he afraid of?"
"Come on, Sirius. It's his first girlfriend. Maybe he's scared we wouldn't like her....not everyone can date their friend." James nudged him, all smiley.
Seeing that Sirius didn't really laugh back, James put his serious face back on. He grabbed his friend's neck and pulled him against him in an almost hug.
"Padfoot, you did the right thing. You're the best godfather ever, don't worry."
Sirius awoke with a pounding headache, his eyes welling up with tears that felt cold against his skin. His vision was blurred, and he felt a strong urge to bite his lip to keep himself from screaming out. He had been hunted by nightmares so many times that it felt like a never-ending cycle of anger, leaving him feeling helpless and exhausted.
He should have seen the signs. Sirius gritted his teeth and forced himself to sit up, his gaze immediately drawn to the mirror across his bedroom. He felt a sudden urge to punch himself, to punch the mirror, even though he knew that would only result in a bloody, swollen hand.
Tonks had told him to wait until Christmas to meet Harry, yet, he felt as if time had somehow come to a standstill; the days seemed to drag on endlessly, and he was growing increasingly impatient to finally meet his godson. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, a habit he had developed since escaping Azkaban. He had taken to showering every day, sometimes twice a day, in an attempt to relax and clear his mind of the mistakes he had made. But no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts always seemed to drift back to the same place.
Sirius slowly rose from his bed, inhaling deeply as he contemplated the decision before him. He had been avoiding Remus for weeks, knowing that his old friend still considered him a traitor, but he couldn't bear the thought of that being the case for another day. Taking a deep breath, he decided to at least meet with Remus and see if he could make amends.
That day, he got permission from Andy. Since he was an animagus, his cousin allowed him to visit his friend under the supervision of Nymphadora. The young witch had looked at her mother as if she had suddenly grown two heads before reluctantly allowing it.
Making their way over to Remus's home. Sirius finally had a chance to talk to Nym about Harry. He wasn't sure where exactly to start but figured he could start asking about their supposed "friendship."
"So, what is going on between you and my godson?" Sirius idly asked, trying very hard not to tease the girl.
Nym and Sirius had been walking in silence for what felt like an eternity, so when Sirius suddenly spoke, it almost startled the Auror; it took a moment for Nym to register that Sirius had broken the silence with his voice.
"...Nothing. Why would you think that?" Nym answered, stumbling on her words a little. She hated herself for not sounding more convincing. Instead, she sounded like a schoolgirl who was talking about her crush.
Sirius grew a smirk that Nym really wanted to slap away. "Well, I can't help but hear the way you talk about Harry. Every time you come home, you always mention him. I can't help but feel responsible for my godson. I, above everyone else, should know in what kind of company Harry is in and, most importantly, what type of girl he is seeing." Sirius, with a wide grin, teasing her to death.
Nym felt like rolling her eyes at the back of her head. "Harry is quite a student, he's a good boy, and he cares for his friends. He's funny and very charming sometimes." Nym spoke, remembering the many times' Harry had teased her, always making her giggle.
Sirius hummed to himself, pleased with what he was hearing. "So, my godson has already grown up. He already has a girlfriend. Surpassing even me." Sirius dramatically declared with a hand on his chest, speaking proudly while wiping away fake tears, but Nym simply shook her head in confusion, not understanding why Sirius felt the need to be so overly dramatic..
"Did you hear about his incident on the train?" Nym asked, trying to change the topic slightly.
Sirius smile slowly faded away as a low growl escaped his mouth. He didn't need to be reminded. It had taken way too long for him to understand that Harry was fine, but when he was informed in more detail about what happened on the train by Andy, he had been shocked, to say the least, hearing that his godson had killed a Dementor wasn't something he had expected to hear.
Dementors were known as creatures impossible to kill, yet, Harry had somehow managed it. Sirius remembered the small incident with Harry when he had been a baby, and the solemn promise he had made to James to keep it a secret. He had kept his word all these years, and would never break it, no matter the cost; he would rather die than betray the trust James had placed in him.
Whatever Holy Magic was, it was important to James and House Potter in general. When Andy asked him about Harry's power, Sirius had told them he knew as much as they did, but whether or not they believed him was a different matter entirely.
"I did. What is Fudge thinking, bringing those creatures into the school?" Sirius couldn't help but growl in frustration, barely keeping his voice down as he wondered what Fudge was thinking, bringing those creatures into the school. He knew that for every minute those things were around, his godson was in danger from both Wormtail and the Dementors, and he was determined to do whatever it took to keep Harry safe.
"I don't know when I heard the first time. I genuinely thought he was joking, even Mad-Eye is not happy, but he's the minister of magic." Nym replied with a nonchalant shrug, letting out a deep sigh of defeat. She had yet to tell them about Harry's incident during the Quidditch Match.
"For now," Sirius mumbled to himself; Nym heard him but did not comment.
As they approached Remus' home, they were met with a humble abode, nothing too extravagant, but it was just the right size for him to call it his own. Sirius had always hoped that his friend would find someone special to share his life with and start a family, but his friend always used the same excuse that he was a werewolf and didn't want to burden anyone with his struggles. Despite this, Sirius never stopped wishing for his friend to find the happiness he deserved.
Sirius crept inside the house, leaving Tonks outside with a stern warning to stay put. Nym, however, was not about to let him go alone; she knew that if she left him to his own devices, the situation could quickly spiral out of control. So, she kept a watchful eye on him, like a hawk, ready to swoop in and save his arse if necessary.
As Sirius crept inside the room, he heard the door opening and his eyes immediately found Remus. It took a moment for him to recognize his old friend, as it had been thirteen long and tumultuous years since they had last seen each other. He remembered Remus being much healthier and happier than he appeared now; his friend had lost some weight and his face was drained of the joy it used to have, leaving him looking utterly exhausted.
Sirius almost came out of his hidden place to greet his friend, behind a fridge of all places, he realized the house lacked any good security, but they could fix that later.
Remus felt his footsteps heavy. His whole body felt heavy with guilt. But it hadn't been okay. James and Lily had died, betrayed by one of the few people they trusted. That Remus trusted. But their sacrifice hadn't been in vain. Harry was alive, and so long as he was going to be alive, a piece of them would keep existing in him.
And Remus was going to do anything to protect what was left of his family.
Entering his house, he felt like just jumping into his bed and sleeping like there was no tomorrow when he heard a voice behind him. A voice he had waited to hear for a very long time.
"Long time no see, Moony!"
He whirled around, his wand in his hand, pointing at Sirius, his hair a bit longer than Remus remembered, and his face surprisingly clean for someone who had just escaped from the depths of Azkaban. But even if a hundred years had passed since they had last seen each other, Remus would have recognized his old friend in an instant.
"Sirius, how could you betray us?" Remus roared, pointing his wand at Sirius with a menacing glare, his voice reverberating off the walls as he shouted. His wand was shaking with rage, and his eyes were blazing with fury.
"Remus, please lower your wand. I didn't betray James. Just let me explain everything." Sirius quickly said, raising his hands in surrender. The last two times he had done something like this, it ended with him being hexed. Sirius hoped this wouldn't be the third time.
"Roll up your sleeves," Remus shouted, still pointing his wand at his old friend. Sirius quickly rolled both of his sleeves all the way to his shoulder.
Remus let out a sigh of relief, he saw no death mark, as he scanned the room, but he was still wary; he couldn't see anyone else, and the silence was almost deafening. He pointed at a nearby chair with his wand, and with a silent understanding, Sirius gracefully lowered himself into the chair, not uttering a single word.
Remus, with a wave of his wand, made a chair levitate and land with a thud right in front of Sirius, the wand still pointed in his direction. Once Lupin settled into his seat, he noticed that his friend had yet to make any attempt to draw out his wand, which Lupin found to be quite peculiar given the circumstances.
Sirius breathed a sigh of relief as he uttered the words, "Thank Merlin, Moony. I really thought you were going to kill me," looking at Lupin with a mixture of fear and gratitude that he had not yet attacked.
"I still might, so Talk," Lupin warned with a cold stare directed at Sirius, who nodded his head. Usually, Sirius would feel proud that his best friend could be so brave, but he kept his mouth shut for now.
For the following thirty minutes, he told him everything, from beginning to end. Once he heard everything, Remus couldn't believe it. For so many years, he had cursed Sirius's existence. For so many years, he had thought about how he hadn't seen Sirius's dark side. His eyes look downwards, feeling guilt.
After a brief moment of silence, Remus lifted his gaze to meet Sirius' eyes, his wand no longer pointed in his direction, and he asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice, "Do you have any proof to back up your claims?"
"He has," Tonks's voice was heard behind them. She was just casually leaning against the wall.
"Auror Nymphadora, it's good to see you," Auror Nymphadora's hair suddenly turned a deep shade of red, and he knew he had said the wrong thing when a snarl escaped her lips.
With a glare, Tonks corrected, "Just Tonks, it's fine," before pointing at Sirius. She then went on to explain in more detail, her voice taking on a more serious tone, that Sirius Black had never had a trial and that she had personally checked and confirmed this fact.
That's why Nym's mother had invited Amelia Bones over to their home for Christmas, hopefully, to help Sirius.
Remus slowly spun around, his heart heavy with emotion, to face Sirius, the one person he had been missing for so long. He opened his arms wide and embraced his best friend tightly, tears streaming down his face as he finally allowed himself to feel the joy of being reunited with his best friend.
"It's been so long, Padfoot." His voice muffled. Sirius hugged him back, slapping his shoulder lightly.
"Indeed, Moony!"
Once they pulled apart, Remus offered sweets to them in an effort to make them feel comfortable. Sirius was more than happy to accept a biscuit, while Lupin, who generally loved sweets and chocolate most of all, was delighted to find that Remus had made his own delicious biscuits.
Lupin took a sip from the cup of tea he had prepared for his guests, his brow furrowing as he asked, "What now?" He wanted to have a long talk with Sirius, to catch up on all the years they had been apart, but he knew that could wait for now; Harry needed them.
Sirius swallowed the biscuit before telling Remus of their plan to capture the rat once and for all and clear his Name.
Harry Potter
Entering his office, Harry was relieved to find that he was alone; the only other occupants being the old professor, who was stirring something in a cup with a little spoon, and Fawkes, the Phoenix, who was perched in a birdcage on the professor's desk. Harry couldn't help but smile as the Phoenix chirped happily in recognition of his arrival.
"Hello, my little friend." Harry greeted his little friend with a warm smile, reaching out to touch the top of his head. The Phoenix let out a pleasant sound, as if it were singing a song of joy, much to Dumbledore's amusement. The old wizard chuckled, his eyes twinkling with delight at the sight of the two of them together. He turned to face the old professor, his face going from happy to serious.
"Professor." Harry called out with no hint of fear or insecurity in his voice as his green eyes met with Dumbledore's Blue eyes.
"Ah, my boy, it's so good to see you again," Dumbledore said warmly, offering a chair for his student to sit on. "We have a lot to discuss, so please, make yourself comfortable."
"About what?" Harry asked curiously, pretending to be unaware of the topic of conversation, as if he was completely in the dark about what they might want to discuss.
"About your Holy Magic, of course."
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